Lighting is Everything (also Pillows)

I realize I've been posting infrequently. But have you read the "Popular Entries" indexed in the left margin? Have you re-read them? They're deliberately written to reward multiple rereadings. I know that sort of writing doesn't jibe with current taste and micro-attention, but someone's got to keep working that angle. Heigh ho.


I just got a new apartment, and all the lightbulbs are cool/daylight white so it feels like a dentist office. This is obviously a matter of opinion. If you prefer cool blue-white light, god bless, but the following isn't for you.

Most people never think about any of this. They're unaware that LEDs can mimic incandescent bulbs, casting soulful old-school light. If they swapped out their bulbs for warmer ones, their lives would be transformed. Instead, they live in homes lit like data centers.

Here's info on warm versus cool white LED bulbs.

Basically, look for the "K" or "Kelvins" info on the box. Lower numbers are warmer. 2700 or 3000 is a good place to start. If you dig it, consider spending $200 or whatever to replace every bulb in your house. It's cheaper than redecorating.

Light is IMPORTANT. Your whole visual life is predicated around it! As with pillows, I don't grok why people don't pay more attention (you spend one third of your life intimately bonded to your pillow, yet most people I know sleep on cheap, hardened, flattened ones). Look, I can be as cheap and careless as anyone out there, but I don't skimp on pillows or light bulbs. You don't truly need a BMW or an Apple Watch, but pillows and light bulbs actually matter!